WEBVTT LOOKING FOR HIMJAMES HILL SEEN IN THIS WANTEDPOSTER. TO AVOID BEING CAPTUREDPOLICE BELIEVE HE'S FAKED HDEATH.NOT ONCE BUT TWICE>> WE DO BELIEVE THAT MR. HILLIS STILL ALIVE AND THAT HE KNOWSTHESE CHARGES ARE STILL HERE>> THE SEARCH FOR HILL START19 YEARS AGO AFTER HE WASSUSPECTED OF SETTING FIRE TO AHOME IN MEREDITHIN APRIL OF 1998, JAMES LYMANHILL THEN FLED THE STATE SO HEDIDN'T HAVE TO ANSWER TO THECHARGES HERE AND HE WENT TOFLORIDA.IN THE FLORIDA KEYS , HILL ISBELIEVED TO HAVE STOLEN A 39FOOT SAILBOAT.IT WAS LATER FOUND RUN ASHOR>> AFTER AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH BYTHE U.S. COAST GUARD THEYBELIEVED THAT HE WAS LOST SEA, PERHAPS DEAD.A DEATH CERTIFICATE WAS ISSUEDBUT HILL WAS SEEN AGAISINCE THEN, HILL HAS BEENSPOTTED ALL OVER THE COUNTRY ANDTHE CARIBBEAN>> WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HE'SACTUALLY CAPABLE OF DOING BUTHE'S ALLUDED POLICE TO THISPOINCONSIDERED TO HAVE VIOLENTTENDENCIES AND STRONG TIES TONEW ENGLAND, BUT SO FAR, NO TIPS

A nationwide manhunt for an arson suspect is underway, nearly two decades after he fled the state.
James Hill is accused of setting his girlfriend's house in Meredith on fire in 1997. Authorities said they believe he has tried to fake his own death multiple times to avoid capture.
"We do believe that Mr. Hill is still alive and that he knows these charges are still here," said Sgt. Bill Wright of the Belknap County Sheriff's Office.
Over the years, Wright has collected tips and information. Among the hundreds of pages in Wright's binder is a newspaper photo from the scene of the fire in 1997. Hill was indicted for the crime months later.
"In April of 1998, James Lyman Hill then fled the state so he didn't have to answer to the charges here, and he went to Florida," Wright said.
Hill is believed to have stolen a sailboat, which was found run ashore with some of his belongings in it.
"After an extensive search by the U.S. Coast Guard, they believed that he was lost at sea, perhaps dead," Wright said.
The state of Florida issued a death certificate, but without a body, investigators in New Hampshire weren't satisfied. They were proven right, because soon after, Hill was spotted again.
"A car was found in the river, and in that car were belongings that belonged to Mr. Hill," U.S. Marshal David Cargill said. "Again, though, no body was recovered."
"We don't know what he's actually capable of doing, but he's eluded police to this point," Wright said.
Sightings of Hill have been reported across the country and Caribbean. Investigators said they have received no tips from New England, but his ties to the area are strong.
"Maybe they're just thinking it's 19 years, that they're going to keep quiet," Cargill said. "Well, we're not going to keep quiet. We're going to continue to look for Mr. Hill until we can find him."
Investigators said that if Hill is still alive, he is 73 years old. They said they believe he could be hiding in the islands off of Florida.
Anyone with information about Hill is asked to contact the U.S. Marshal's Office.

CONCORD, N.H. —

A nationwide manhunt for an arson suspect is underway, nearly two decades after he fled the state.

James Hill is accused of setting his girlfriend's house in Meredith on fire in 1997. Authorities said they believe he has tried to fake his own death multiple times to avoid capture.

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"We do believe that Mr. Hill is still alive and that he knows these charges are still here," said Sgt. Bill Wright of the Belknap County Sheriff's Office.

Over the years, Wright has collected tips and information. Among the hundreds of pages in Wright's binder is a newspaper photo from the scene of the fire in 1997. Hill was indicted for the crime months later.

"In April of 1998, James Lyman Hill then fled the state so he didn't have to answer to the charges here, and he went to Florida," Wright said.

Hill is believed to have stolen a sailboat, which was found run ashore with some of his belongings in it.

"After an extensive search by the U.S. Coast Guard, they believed that he was lost at sea, perhaps dead," Wright said.

The state of Florida issued a death certificate, but without a body, investigators in New Hampshire weren't satisfied. They were proven right, because soon after, Hill was spotted again.

"A car was found in the river, and in that car were belongings that belonged to Mr. Hill," U.S. Marshal David Cargill said. "Again, though, no body was recovered."